Clojure for Domain-specific Languages

Clojure for Domain-specific Languages is published by Packt Publishing in December 2013. This book has 268 pages in English, ISBN-13 9781782166504.

Clojure is a very new and rapidly growing language that runs on top of the JVM. The language being hosted on the Java platform allows for Clojure applications to use existing Java components. Although there are objects in Clojure, the language is not object oriented.

“Clojure for Domain-specific Languages” is an example-oriented guide to building custom languages. Many of the core components of Clojure are covered to help you understand your options when making a domain-specific language. By the end of this book, you should be able to make an internal DSL. Starting with a comparison of existing DSLs, this book will move on to guide you through general programming, Clojure editing, and project management. The chapters after that are code oriented.

“Clojure for Domain-specific Languages” tries to expose you to as much Clojure code as possible. Many of the examples are executed in a Read-Evaluate-Print-Loop environment, so the reader can also follow along on their own machine. This book uses Leiningen, but no prior knowledge of it is required.

“Clojure for Domain-Specific Languages” aims to make you familiar with the Clojure language and help you learn the tools to make your own language.

What you will learn from this book

Understand the pros and cons of a domain-specific language

Learn general programming design concepts

Know the benefits of a Lisp-based syntax

Edit Clojure files in Emacs

Learn to operate a Read-Evaluate-Loop session from within Emacs

Build Clojure projects with Leiningen

Manipulate and make polymorphic objects in a non-object-oriented language

Approach

Who this book is written for

If you’ve already developed a few Clojure applications and wish to expand your knowledge on Clojure or domain-specific languages in general, then this book is for you. If you’re an absolute Clojure beginner, then you may only find the detailed examples of the core Clojure components of value. If you’ve developed DSLs in other languages, this Lisp and Java-based book might surprise you with the power of Clojure.